Apparatus for and method of making envelopes



31, 1933' w. H. RIFE 1,933,120

APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF MAKING ENVELOPES Filed Feb. 8, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet l Oct..31, 1933. w RlFE 1,933,120

APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF MAKING ENVELOPES Filed Feb. 8, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 31, 1933. w. H. RIFE 1,933,120

APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF MAKING ENVELOPES Filed Feb. 8, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ,zzy4

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Oct. 31, 1933. w. H. RIPE I 1,933,120

APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF MAKING ENVELOPES Filed Feb. 8, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 r A 1% Wi /71W? )VlY/[am Patented Oct. 31, 1933 APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD MAKING ENVELOPES William H. Rife, Chicago, Ill., assignorto Columbia Envelope Company, a corporation of Illinois Application February a, 1932. Serial No. 591,656

7 Claims. (01. 93-73) This invention relates to an apparatus for and method of making envelopes, and an object of the invention is to provide an. improved apparatus and a new method by which a design, preferably of ornamental nature, may be imprinted upon the side of the paper web which, in the finished envelope, comprises the inner surface or enclosed surface of the envelope. A further object is the provision of mechanism and a new method whereby a printed design to act as a substitute for a separate envelopeliner is impressed during the course of continuous production, in which in the successive operative steps the envelope paper is unwound from a reel to form a web passing continuously through the machine, with the various successive operations performed to crease, trim and cut the moving web into the requisite blanks,

apply such type printing as may be desired for the v envelope exterior, apply adhesive to the portions which are to form the seams, and then finally fold and cause the seam portions to adhere and apply an adhesive to the closure flap. portion. The provision of an ornamental design printed upon the side of the paper which ultimately forms the interior surface of the envelope, is desirable for several reasons, including greater attractiveness, increased strength and stability by reason of the application of a printing design over the inner surface, and the preventing of surreptitious inspection or reading of the contents of the finished envelope. The present invention eliminates entirely the separate printing on a web of paper of a design on the side which is to form the interior of the envelope, and then rewinding the roll of paper for subsequent use in connection with an envelope making machine. This lining design, in the present invention, is applied during the progressive operation of the envelope making machine, in which the envelopes are completely formed from a roll of blank paper without themtervention of manual labor except such as is necessary to replenish a used roll of paper and to see that the parts are functioning properly, and also without the relatively slow process of arranging the envelope blanks in stacks or piles preparatory to the folding and sealing operations.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the combinations and arrangements of parts and in the operative method steps hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the machine for practicing "the invention and for carrying out the method;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig.2, and also, in-

reduced scale, substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4, illustrating the operative transmission connections between the various parts used in the lining printing;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectionalview, taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. l, and also a transverse vertical sectional view, taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig.

5 on the same scale; i

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view, taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the envelop'e ,web with serrations formed for the side flaps, and is also an inverted face view of the paper web, taken substantially on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5, being substantially a projection of the paper web on this line;

Fig.7 is a plan view of the envelope before making the hinge fold bringing the back and front portions together; and

Fig. 8 is a view of the completed envelope with the back and front portions brought together, seams formed along the lateral edges with the side flaps, and adhesive applied to the top closure flap.

As illustrated in the drawings, the preferred embodiment of my invention and illustrative mechanism for carrying out the novel method, comprises a frame 12 having vertical intermediate standards 13 andlongitudinally' extending parallel side rails 14 and 15, which maybe channel shaped, as shown in Fig. 4. A drive shaft 16 is suitably journaled in the frame of the machine and carries loosely mounted drive pulley 17.

Clutch mechanism 18 is controlled by rocking rod 19, by means of shifter handle 20. Hand 7 wheel 21 is preferably provided for movement of the various machine parts for adjusting purposes, and bevel drive pinion 22 mounted on the opposite end of drive shaft 16 is adapted to mesh with bevel gear 23 secured to longitudinally extending countershaft 24 suitably journaled in bearings 25, each of which is carried by a bracket 26, as shown in Fig. 4.

Mounted upon the right hand extremity of the machine, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is a reel brack et 27 adapted to rotatably support reel, 28'which carries a roll of paper 29, fromwhich paper web 30 is unwound and fed into and through the machine. Bevel pinion 31' of shaft 24 meshes with bevel pinion 32 aflixed to transverse shaft 33, journaled in the frame of the machine, and upon which is mounted power driven feed roll 34 normally having frictional contact with an upper idle roller 35 so arranged that paper web 30 is fed forwardly. After passing between rollers 34 and 35, the paper web preferably passes around, in suspending manner, a floating spool 36 which serves to maintain the web in smooth condition, and thereafter the paper passes upwardly and thence downwardly through a creasing device 37, which is not shown in detail because individually used heretofore, and by means of which the lateral marginal portions of the web are creased to later form creased side flaps 38 (see Figs. 6 and 7) after serrations are cut in the marginal portions. The web is then carried between trimming rollers 39 and 40, which are geared together, the latter being mounted upon transverse shaft 41 which carries bevel pinion 42 driven by a bevel pinion 43 upon shaft 24. Trimming rollers 39 and serve to cut out the intermediate portions or serrations between the successive side flaps 38, and thereafter web 30 is carried between a type printing roller 44 and lower press roller 45 (see Figs. 1 and 5). The type printing roller 44 carries a cylindrical type holding plate or form for impressing any desired printed matter upon the surface of the web which is later to constitute the exterior of the finished envelope.

Press roller 45 is mounted upon transverse shaft 46 suitably journaled in side plates47.

,shown in Fig. 1, and 55 shown in Fig. 5.

Splined upon drive shaft 16 but slidably mounted with clutch member 18, is pinion 48 (see Figs. 1 and 2) which meshes with an idle pinion 49, which in turn is in mesh with gear 50 loosely mounted on shaft 46 and having a hub portion adapted to form a jaw clutch in cooperation with clutch member 51 keyed to shaft 46. The upper type printing roller 44'is carried by shaft 52, upon which is mounted gear 53 meshing with a similar gear mounted upon the lower shaft 46, whereby type printing roller 44 and pressure roller 45 travel at uniform speed in opposite directions.

Shaft 52 is preferably journaled in a hinged frame assembly adapted to be swung on pivots 54 This assembly comprises a side plate 56, as shown in Fig. 1, and a corresponding side plate 57 (see Fig. 5) disposed on the opposite side of the machine. This arrangement is desirable for resetting the type in roller 44, and similarly the inking mechanism assembly 58 is swingably mounted on pivot 59 and a corresponding pivot on the opposite side of the machine, and may be held in any desired elevated position by means of. wing nut 60 threaded on a stud slidable in arcuate slot 61. The inking mechanism, for applying ink to the type printing roller 44, need not be described in detail because not separately novel and is subject to considerable alteration in view of the fact that the only purpose is to apply ink to the type printing roller. In the embodiment shown, pinion 62 is secured to a transverse shaft upon which is also mounted gear 63, which isin mesh with gear 64 mounted on shaft 65, which carries gear 66 driven by gear 53. Pinion 62 is adapted to drive gear 67 carrying an offset crank pin 68, to which is connected one end of pitman 69, connected at the opposite end to rock arm 70 loosely mounted on shaft 72, which is adapted to intermittently engage rotary ratchet 73 keyed to shaft 71. Shaft 71 carries roller 74 which supplies ink from an ink container 75 to a plurality of inking rolls 76 through an intermediate roller 77. In this manner the ink is supplied from the reservoir and evenly distributed before application to the type printing roller 44, as is understood. Inking rollers 78 and 79 are in direct contact with the type printing roll 44 and are driven by frictional contact with an intermediate roller 80, which 'in turn is driven by frictional engagement with the two lower pair of rollers 76. Beyond rollers 44 and 45, the web 30 is carried between upper pressure roller 81 and lower lining printing roller 82, which carries a cylindrical form for the desired design of the printed lining or interior of the final envelope. Thus roller 82 is preferably of a length equal to the entire width of the web 30, with the exception of the side flaps 38, so that the printed impression will be as shown in Fig. 6 and may be of any desired color or of any desired ornamental configuration. Furthermore, if desired, the mechanism presently described for printing the side of the web which forms the interior may be duplicated or multiplied to print as many colors as desired. Roller 82 is designated throughout as the lining printing roller, to clearly differentiate from the type printing roller 44 which prints typed matter upon the opposite side of the web.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, pressure roller 81 is mounted upon transverse shaft 83 suitably journaled in bracket bearings 84, which form part of a bracket assembly 85 which is pivotally mounted at 86 to permit the bracket assembly to be swung upwardly for access to the impression lining roller 82. The lining printer roller 82 is mounted upon transverse shaft 87 suitably journaled in journal plates 88, mounted on the respective side rails 14 and 15, and roller 82 is driven through the medium of gear 89 loosely mounted upon shaft 87 having a hub portion engageable with clutch collar 90 secured to shaft 87, and an intermediate idle pinion 91 adapted to mesh with gear 89 and also drive pinion 48. Upper roller 81 is driven by means of gear 92 keyed upon shaft 83 and in mesh with an inwardly disposed gear 93 secured to shaft 87. The ink applying mechanism for lining printing roller 87 preferably comprises a train of gears and rollers with the rollers journaled in a rocking frame comprising side plates 94 and 95 pivotally mounted on stud shafts 96 and 97, respectively, so as to 'be swung relative to roller 82 and secured in any selected position by means of wing nuts 98 threaded on studs 16 through arcuate slots 99 provided in the frame of the machine. When the ink applying assembly is in the uppermost position as shown in Fig. 5, roller 82 is in contact with an idler ink spreading roller 100, and in this position gear 93 is adapted to mesh with gear 101 keyed to a transverse shaft upon which is mounted ink applying roller 102. Similarly, gear 101 engages gear 103 secured to a transverse shaft upon which is mounted an ink conveying roller 104. Gear 103 meshes with gear 105 secured to a shaft carrying roller 106, and gear 105 through an intermediate loose pinion 107 drives gear 108 secured to shaft 109, upon which is mounted ink supplying roller 110, the major.portion of which is disposed within ink reservoir 111 having side rails 112 suitably supported by cross members 113. Cover 114 is disposed upon the ink reservoir 111 and is provided with a central opening, the edges of which are disposed adjacent the surface of roller 110 and serve to scrape off excess ink.

Pivotally mounted upon the inking assembly frame described, are a pair of levers 115 which operate in unison, carrying a rocking roller 116 and connected at the upper ends tolinks 117, which are pivoted to axially offset crank pins 118 mounted on discs 119 secured to the shaft carrying roller 104. Thus levers 115 are adapted to oscillate and carry the ink transporting roller 116 between rollers 110 and 106. Additional loose rollers 120 and 121 are preferably mounted in the inking assembly frame and. adapted to contact with roller 104 to effect a more uniform distribution of the ink, and thus it will be noted that in operation the ink is carried from the supply roll 110 intermittently by the rocking roller 116 to supply. roller 106, and thence by means of the intermediate rollers to the lining printing roller82.

After passing between rollers 81 and 82 and receiving the printing on the under surface of the web 30, the web is carried between gripping roll 122 mounted on transverse shaft 123 and upper.

pressure roller 124 mounted on transverse shaft 125. Shaft 23 carries bevel pinion 126, which is driven by bevel pinion 127 on shaft 24. Shafts 123 and 125 are adapted to be driven in unison but in opposite directions by means of gears128 and 129.

At this point the envelope web has typed print,- ed matter applied; if desired, to the upper surface which ultimately forms the outer surface of the envelope, and has lining printed matter applied to the under side of the web, or the side which is disposed upon the interior of the printed envelope, and also has .the side edges trimmed or serrated to provide side flaps. The:

mechanisms which perform the subsequent operations of applying an adhesive to the side flaps, indenting and severing the web transversely to provide envelope blanks, trimming off the corners of the severed blanks, creasing and forming the hinge fold to bring the back and front portions together, and applying an adhesive to the upper closure flap, is not individually novel and is included in the present description merely to complete the disclosure and mode of operation. Therefore, it will be unnecessary to describe this portion of the apparatus in detail, which comprises the two transverse power driven shafts 130 and 131. In these operations the web as shown in Fig. 6 is severed transversely to provide envelope blanks as shown in Fig. '7, which are then successively folded as. shown in Fig. 8, bringing the back portion 132 in contact with side fiaps 38 to which the back portion is sealed and adhesive 133 is applied to the top closure flap. After the completed envelopes are formed they are carried from the machines by endless chain conveyors 134. In the present invention, the printing of an envelope lining upon the envelope paper web in a continuous process by which a roll of paper is unwound at one end of the machine and completed envelopes emerge from the opposite end, is performed as a part of the general process, and suitable mechanism is provided for accomplishing this result.

It will be understood that in the printing operations a quick drying ink is preferably employed, and the general operation of the machine and the carrying out of the method steps are. indicated by the foregoing description, in which the varioi's parts have been described both in connection with structure and function.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, and the preferred procedural steps for carrying out the novel method, these are capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. I,

therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modiflcations. as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Havingdescribed my invention, what I claim f as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1. An envelope making machine of the class described comprising, in combination, means for progressively. advancing a web of paper, means means for applying typed printed matter to the surface of said paper which forms the exterior of the finished envelope.

2. An envelope making machine of the class described comprising, in combination, means for progressively advancing a web of paper, means for severing the lateral edges to provide sealing flaps, a printing member adapted to print a lining design upon the surface of the paper which forms the interior of the completed envelope, ink applying mechanism for said printing member, means for foldingand sealing said envelopes, and means for applying typed printed matter to the surface of said paper which forms theexterior of the finished envelope.

3. An envelope making machine of the class 5 described comprising, in combination, means for progressively advancing a web of paper, means for severing the lateral edges to provide sealing flaps, a rotary printing roller constructed and arranged to print a lining design upon the surface of the paper which forms the interior of the completed envelope, inking mechanism adapted to apply ink to said roller, means for folding and sealing said envelopes, and means for applying typed printed matter to the surface of said paper which forms the exterior of the finished envelope.

4. An envelope making machine of the class described comprising, in combination, means for progressively advancing a web of paper, means for severing the lateral edges to provide sealing flaps, a rotary printing roller constructed andarranged to print a lining design upon the surface of the paper which forms the interior of the completed envelope, an ink reservoir, an ink supplying roller rotatably mounted in said reservoir, means for applying ink to said printingroller from said supplying roller, means for folding and sealing said envelopes, and means for applying typed printed matter to the surface of said paper which forms the exterior of the finished envelope.

5. The combination with an envelope making machine having mechanism for cutting, folding and sealing envelope blanks formed from a web 1 of continuously advancing paper, and also including mechanism for printing typed matter upon the surface of said web which forms the exterior of the finished envelope, of a printing member adapted to printa lining design upon the surface of said web which forms the interior of the finished envelope.

6. The combination with an envelope making machine having mechanism for cutting, folding and sealing envelope blanks formed from a web of continuously advancing paper, and also including mechanism for printing typed matter upon the surface of said web which forms the exterior of the finished envelope, of a rotary printing roller adapted to print a lining design upon face of said web which forms the exterior of the completed envelope, printing a design upon the surface of said web which forms the interior of the completed envelope, transversely cutting said web into blanks, and folding and sealing said blanks to form completed envelopes.

WILLIAM H. RIPE. 

